


a little far from home

by idontgiveamcfuck



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Gen, riverdale did me dirty, so now im fixing their mess, will add more tags as I write, with a mess of my own
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-14 03:00:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17500292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idontgiveamcfuck/pseuds/idontgiveamcfuck
Summary: Toni was shaking with rage. The one thing she had devoted her life to was being taken away from her when all she’d been trying to do was help.ORToni goes undercover within the Gargoyles rather than Fangs.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is pretty much what you saw in the last episode of Riverdale with a few tweaks because I don't think Toni would've done what she did without a reason. It's my first fic so excuse my grammar and if you've got any inputs into how you think this could go just drop by my tumblr: idontgiveamcfuck. Thanks, and please enjoy.

Toni burrowed deeper into her jacket, the leather was a thin barrier between her and the cold chill that ran through the air. The serpents were beginning to get restless, with the impending winter months and the fact that money was running low Toni didn’t know how much longer they had left. Cheryl and she had tried to keep food in the people's mouths while Jughead and FP had been MIA but there were only so many rich families they could steal from. She didn’t want to steal from people like Fred Andrews and she hoped that with the return of the Serpent King it wouldn’t come to that. 

There was movement from the side of the group as Jughead trudged forward. A hush fell over the Serpents as they awaited with bated breath what their leader had to say. 

“Earlier today I brokered a deal,” Jughead announced, coming to a swift stop in front of the Serpents. “Got us a paid gig. From here on out we’ll be working security detail for Veronica Lodge at Speakeasy for the employees.” 

An immediate celebration broke out, Serpents whooping and cheering. Toni didn’t think she’d seen this kind of happiness within the Serpents for months maybe even years. 

Toni felt the grip on her hand tighten and turned to face the girl sat next to her. She was certain that the grin on her face matched the one currently on Cheryl's face. Toni closed the gap and placed a quick kiss on her lips before pulling back to admire her girlfriend. 

They’d managed to do it. They’d kept the Serpents alive while Jug had been away, and now they had jobs. They were going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay. Toni thought. 

“Settle down,” Jughead commanded, the frown on his face confusing the serpents who slowly began to look around worriedly. “I know it’s good news for a change but I’ve also gathered us here for less celebratory reasons.” 

Toni looked around the group of Serpents who all had equally as confused looks plastered on their faces. 

They had jobs now. Everything was meant to be fine. Toni thought, her palms began to clam up as her pulse quickened. 

“Cheryl...” Jughead continued. Toni's head snapped towards Cheryl her eyes widening. No, no, no. She thought. “...Toni, come up here.” 

She felt her heart stop. Cheryl's grip on her hand tightened and it was the only thing keeping her grounded. 

“Excuse me?” Cheryl scoffed. She glanced at Toni her brows furrowed in confusion. “What did we do?” 

“You broke into the Lodge apartment and stole a Glamerge egg.” Jughead hissed. 

Toni felt like she was underwater, her vision was blurred and sounds were muffled. How did Jughead know it was them? Why did Jughead care they did it to get money for the Serpents? Was Hiram going to come after all the Serpents now? Toni couldn’t think, too many questions going through her head. She was drawn back to reality when she felt Cheryl stand, rising just a few seconds after her. 

“So, what if we did?” Cheryl challenged. 

“Well more than that. You left your calling card,” Jughead seethed. Toni turned to look at Cheryl, she didn’t remember leaving anything behind. Toni’s brain felt like it was in overdrive. “attaching yourself and by extension all of the Serpents to your crime.” 

“I’m not afraid of Lodge,” Cheryl said, shrugging her shoulders dismissively. “What’s he gonna do? Call the sheriff? Oh, right there is no sheriff” 

“Cheryl that’s not the point. You broke the code.” Jughead stated, there was a moment of hesitation as he contemplated what to do. “Turn in your jackets and go.” 

Toni snapped back to reality at that. She felt her anger coursing through her veins. She only stole the god damn egg so that the serpents wouldn’t starve, and she certainly didn’t leave anything behind to connect them to the crime. 

“Are you serious Jones. We stole that egg so that the Serpents wouldn’t continue to starve as we have been for weeks, oh, wait sorry you wouldn’t know because you weren’t here. I’m a Serpent by blood, you can't take that away from me.” Toni deadpanned. 

“You hypocrite. You give your drug dealing buddy Fangs a pass...” Cheryl growled. Toni placed a hand on her forearm, she didn’t want Fangs to get dragged into this. “...but you crucify us.” 

Toni glanced over the Fangs and saw him drop his head into his hands. She looked away guilty. He didn’t deserve to be dragged into this, not with his mother. She’d tried to help him pay for the medical costs but not even she could afford it after a few burglaries. 

“If you’re asking for our jackets shouldn’t you be asking for his as well.” Cheryl continued. 

Toni frowned at her girlfriend. If she really had to leave the Serpents, she didn’t want Fangs to be dragged with her. She had Thistle house to go back to, Fangs didn’t have anywhere. 

“Cheryl...” Toni warned. 

Cheryl glanced down at Toni but just folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot impatiently, staring down the Serpent King. Toni placed her hand on Cheryl's elbow as she heard Betty try to get Jugheads attention. 

“You’re right,” Jughead said. Toni’s head whipped around to face him, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to form the words to argue. Jughead turned to face Fangs and held out his hand. “Fangs, give me your jacket.” 

“Jughead no...” Toni was cut off by Sweet pea who stormed forward, shoving Jughead. 

“What the hell man.” He demanded. 

Fangs jumped up from the spot he had been sitting on. He held out a hand hoping it would calm Sweet pea down just a tiny bit. 

“It’s okay Sweet pea,” He said calmly. As he approached Jughead his eyes became cold. He angrily took his jacket off and threw it at Jugheads feet. “Some leader you are.” He sneered before storming off. 

Toni felt the lump in her throat rise as she watched Sweet pea run after Fangs only to be stopped by FP. Her family was hurting and she couldn’t do anything to help them. Her eyes were brimmed with tears. 

Jughead turned back to face them. 

“We’ll go but we’re keeping out jackets,” Cheryl said. 

“Fine, but I need that egg back.” He said in a clipped tone. 

“Why?” Cheryl countered, a single eyebrow-raising in challenge. She was oblivious to the meltdown going on in her girlfriend's head. 

“We need that damn egg back for Veronica’s protection detail.” He said with an exasperated sigh. 

“Why the hell would I care I’m not a Serpent anymore?” Cheryl laughed her voice raising an octave. 

“Because I believe that you still have honor.” He growled as he raised a hand which he jabbed towards the girls. 

Toni was shaking with rage. The one thing she had devoted her life to was being taken away from her when all she’d been trying to do was help. She could feel her anger bubbling at the surface and she couldn’t contain it anymore. She stepped forward till she was nose to nose with Jughead, swatting Jugheads hand out the way. 

“Take the damn egg, while you’re at it take my damn jacket as well,” She shrugged her jacket off and threw it at Jugheads feet. “You want to know honor? It’s stepping up and putting the needs of the gang before your own. When we were all starving you ran off with your best friend and left us in the dust, and what? He told you to come back to Riverdale so you did. What would’ve happened if Archie hadn’t told you to leave?” She stalked forward till she was nose to nose with him. “You ran off like a coward, you left kids to fend for themselves, you left us alone, you left us for dead, you betrayed us. If anyone has broken a law it's you, Jones.” She jabbed a finger at his chest. 

She spun around quickly and stormed towards the woods, grabbing Cheryl's arm to pull her with her. She let out an angry huff as she realized she’d have to trek through the woods in the dark to get to where she’d parked her bike. Sweet pea came into her line of sight as he began walking towards her. She gave a slight shake of her head. One of her brothers was no longer a Serpent today because of her she didn’t want both of them to lose their family. 

“Toni I’d get your girlfriend to change her lipstick if I were you, it seems to get everywhere,” Jughead called out. 

Toni felt Cheryl tense beside her but continued towards the tree line. She thought she heard a scuffle behind her and a heated voice which sounded surprisingly like FP. Finally, she broke through the tree line with Cheryl and looking out into the darkness she finally felt the cold chill seep into her bones. She had no leather jacket to aid her, she had no family to protect her. She was alone except for the Blossom who stood beside her. Something nagged at her though, something which told her that even the bright flame that was Cheryl Blossom would be extinguished soon enough, and then she’d truly be alone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni finds out who left the calling card behind and bumps into someone that makes her night even worse.

The walk through the woods was tense and silent, besides from the chattering of Toni’s teeth. Cheryl kept offering her jacket, but Toni shook her head. The cold kept her distracted from thinking about what had just occurred.

Eventually, they broke through the underbrush and stumbled into the now empty parking lot. Toni’s bike lay on its side in the centre. Toni swore she put the kickstand down properly. She knew it wasn’t a big deal and that her bike had survived worse but still, she felt her throat starting to close up as she blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear the tears from her eyes. One of the last things that connected her to the Serpents was lying carelessly on the ground. Luckily Cheryl's helmet had stayed secured around the handlebars while Toni's lay a few feet away.

Cheryl placed a comforting hand on her girlfriends back which was quickly shrugged off. Toni knew that the moment she allowed herself a bit of comfort she would break and she couldn’t do that here, not now, there were too many dangers. The cold was one, the second were Serpents that may have followed them to remove their tattoos following their exile by the Serpent King although Toni knew it wouldn’t be on Jugheads orders, and finally, the Ghoulies who now dubbed themselves the Gargoyle Gang. Although she and Cheryl were no longer with the Serpents, they still were connected to them which put them in greater danger. Without the protection of the Serpents, the Gargoyle gang could attack them without repercussions.

“Toni...” Cheryl started her voice filled with sympathy.

“We need to get back to Thistle house,” Toni said in a firm tone although her voice shook.

She quickly closed the gap between the bike and her and leaned down to pull it upright. Toni unclipped Cheryl's helmet and handed it back to her, which she took with a noise of thanks. She assessed the damage to her bike and found a few new scratches but luckily nothing worse than that. She let out a quiet sigh of relief. She turned back towards Cheryl who was fiddling with her helmet.

“Can you?” Toni asked leaning the bike towards Cheryl for her to hold.

Cheryl's head snapped up and she gave a short nod, quickly taking the handlebars from Toni. Toni turned back around and strode towards her helmet. She crouched down and picked it up. She rolled it over in her hands taking in the damage. There was no new damage to her helmet luckily. She dropped her head down so that it rested on the top of her helmet and released a breath of relief. When she opened her eyes, she noticed the slightly faded lipstick mark Cheryl had left on her helmet. Cheryl had left it on her helmet a few weeks back when she had won a race against Archie, Jughead and Reggie. She smiled at the memory before her expression became sullen. She wasn’t a Serpent anymore. Jugheads voice still rang in her head.

_“Toni I’d get your girlfriend to change her lipstick if I were you, it seems to get everywhere,”_

Toni’s frown deepened before something finally clicked. She glanced up at Cheryl who was watching her curiously. When she had left the lipstick mark on her helmet, she had said something about liking to leave her mark. Toni shook her head. She wouldn’t have, she wouldn’t have been stupid enough to leave something behind when they were robbing the most powerful man in town. It made sense though as to why she stiffened, as to why Jughead attacked Cheryl more than Toni even though Toni’s betrayal should've been deeper considering she had been a Serpent for years while Cheryl had only been a serpent for a few months.

“Cheryl?” Toni asked in a quiet voice, her gaze still on the ground.

“Yes TT?” Cheryl replied slowly leaning the bike on its kickstand.

“Did you do it?” Toni questioned.

“Did what mon petite amour?” Cheryl asked in a confused voice, slowly approaching and crouching so that she was at the same level as Toni.

“Leave a calling card behind,” Toni said, turning her helmet so that Cheryl could clearly see the lipstick mark.

“Toni I...” Cheryl began.

“I don’t want excuses, did you or did you not?” Toni demanded her tone stern but she didn’t raise her voice. She had promised Cheryl she would never and no matter how angry or upset she got she didn’t plan on breaking that promise.

“Yes, I did,” Cheryl said casting her gaze to the ground in shame.

Toni felt the world stop around her. Cheryl had left a calling card; a god damn lipstick mark and it had caused them to be exiled from their family. Toni took a sharp intake of breath. She wanted to know why. To scream at Cheryl how stupid it was. How Hiram could’ve come after her and taken the egg back rather than asking Veronica to get it back. Instead, she looked up and caught eyes with her girlfriend.

“I think you should take the bike and go back to Thistle house tonight,” Toni said her voice barely above a whisper. Toni knew Cheryl would have a good reason for her actions, she just wasn’t ready to hear it. Everything was still so fresh.

“What about you?” Cheryl asked, tears were freely flowing down her face and she made no attempt to wipe them away.

“I’ll find somewhere to stay for tonight, I think we need some time apart,” Toni whispered as she rose to her feet.

“Toni please, can we just talk about this?” Chery begged, catching Toni’s hand in her grip.

“Cheryl, I need time to calm down before I say anything I’ll regret,” Toni sighed. Cheryl nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. “I love you but I'm upset so just give me a bit of time.”

Toni pivoted on the spot and began to make her way towards the Serpent camp. Fangs would hopefully still be there. She needed to make sure he was okay and it was also safer if they stayed together for the night. Behind her, she heard a quiet I love you from Cheryl before the roar of a bike. As the bike pulled away, she felt her walls finally crumbling. The dam which had been holding back her tears finally broke and she let out a choked sob. She stumbled forward into the woods, her vision blurred by her tears which she aggressively wiped way. It was to no avail as the ones she wiped were quickly replaced by fresh tears. Toni pulled out her phone and scrolled till she found Josie's number. Her hand was shaking and tears kept falling on her phone screen making it harder to type.

 **[Toni** 11:33PM **]:** _Hey could you go over to Thistle house and keep Cheryl company tonight :)_

 **[Pussycat** 11:35PM **]:** _Of course, is everything okay with you and Cheryl? x_

She swiped back onto her contacts and her finger hovered over Veronicas contact name. They had stolen an egg from her father but she was fairly sure Veronica didn’t care and probably found it funny. She would defiantly be on their side when it came to why they stole it. After debating for a few minutes, she gave in.

 **[Toni** 11:40PM **]:** _Josie is already going but could you stay at Thistle house tonight and keep Cheryl distracted. x_

 **[V** 11:43PM **]:** _I’ll be right over. I’m assuming it’s something to do with the egg. FYI if it wasn’t for my father's meddling, I wouldn’t have cared about it. x_

The moment she knew that Cheryl would be okay, or at least have a support system around her she could feel herself slipping again. Toni braced herself against a tree as sobs took control of her body again. The bark was rough against her arm but it allowed her to keep herself grounded if just for this moment.

There was a chuckle from behind her and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She swivelled round to face whoever was there. Her hand reaching for her pocket knife before she realized her jacket was with Jughead. Before her stood a slim figure, who was around the same height as her. They had a Gargoyle mask on which covered their face. Toni bared her teeth and pulled her fists up to protect her body. She doubted she looked intimidating at all considering her cheeks were covered in tear tracks and her eyes must have been red and puffy. The figure seemed to analyze her, their head cocking slightly to the side before letting out another chuckle.

“A little girl shouldn’t be in the woods alone this late at night,” The Gargoyle purred. “Especially a snake, don’t you know you’re not top of the food chain anymore.” Toni furrowed her brows. The voice was strikingly familiar but she couldn’t place whose it was.

“Who are you?” Toni growled.

“Where’s your little jacket? You snakes are cold-blooded,” The figure stepped forward into Toni's space. “I can warm you up a bit,” Toni bristled and took a few steps backwards until she felt her back collide with a tree. “Only if you like of course.”

“Who are you?” Toni demanded.

“Oh, don’t you remember? You held me down while your little king did this to me.” The figure spat out. They pulled their sleeve up to reveal an ugly scar on their forearm. Toni paled. She’d only helped remove a Serpent tattoo once and it was one of her deepest regrets. The figure pulled off the Gargoyle mask and threw it to the ground to reveal the face of Penny Peabody. “Do you remember me now?”

Toni threw a punch towards her face; which Penny deflected and used the opening to shove Toni. Her back hit the tree hard. Toni pushed herself off the tree and swung at Penny once again. At the last minute, she saw a glint of something in Penny's hand but it was too late. Penny surged forward slicing the blade through the air. Toni managed to redirect the blade but it still sliced along her collarbone leaving a long deep wound behind. Penny used her free hand to shove Toni once again into the tree. She pinned Toni’s arms above her head with her free hand and pressed the blade against Toni's throat; hard enough to break the skin without causing irreversible damage. Toni sucked in a sharp intake of breath as Penny leaned her forearm against her wound.

“What do you want?” Toni hissed out.

“A little birdy, or should I say snake told me what happened at the Serpent nest tonight.” Penny drawled. “Told me that queen of the snakes has lost her skin.”

“What’s it to you?” Toni spat. She struggled against the grip keeping her in place but stilled when she felt Penny lean more weight onto her collarbone. Her t-shirt felt damp and sticky against her skin.

“I have a proposition for you,” Penny said in a matter of fact tone.

“As if I would take any deal with you, I learnt my lesson when I was 14 and you tried to blackmail me,” Toni said.

“I would hear me out if I was you, we wouldn’t want this to get messy now would we,” Penny said. She moved the blade to rest against Toni’s jaw. Toni swallowed hard. Penny took that as an indication to continue. “We both know that Jughead isn’t a good leader. Ever since he started running the Serpents, he’s made the wrong decisions and used them for his own personal gain.” She dragged the pocket knife down Toni’s body till it came to rest against the side of her ribs. “You cut all ties to the Serpents and join the Ghoulies. With your inside knowledge, we can dethrone Jughead and put the rightful queen in charge.”

“What would happen to the Serpents after? You put me in charge and then kill us all? Doesn’t make much sense.” Toni questioned.

Penny let out a laugh. “No, no, no. We would let you live in peace. So long as you stayed out of the drug war and carried out a few tasks for us, we would leave you alone.” Penny said.

“And if I say no?” Toni asked. Penny's face became grim as she pressed the knife a little harder into her side. Toni clenched her jaw as she felt the knife break the skin but luckily not go any deeper.

“I did say this could get messy, didn’t I?” She chuckled.

Toni kicked Penny’s ankle hard causing her to falter. She threw her body weight to one side, with Penny off balance they both toppled to the ground. Penny dropped the switchblade and tried to catch herself but kept her grip firm on Toni’s arms. Toni shot up and bit down hard over the ugly scar on her forearm. Penny let out a scream immediately relinquishing her grip as she clutched her arm to her body. Toni spat out the chunk of flesh from Penny's arm and quickly jumped to her feet. She turned in the direction of the Serpent camp and took off running.

Her pulse was pounding in her ears and she ran through the woods. The branches were scratching at her arms and cheeks but she didn't care. She needed to be as far away from that woman as possible. Toni continued to run until her muscles were burning. She was close enough to the camp that she could hear the sounds of people rustling around in their tents. Toni dropped down onto her knees and leaned forward as she heaved. There a strong taste of copper which she was desperate to get rid of, but there was a bigger reason as to why bile was rising in her throat. When Penny had made the offer, for a split second she had wanted to agree. For a second, she was ready to through Jughead to the wolves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey it's me again. Just popping by the say I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though I'm 90% sure I can't write. Thanks to the people who commented last time. To bodybroke I get where you're coming from and I definitely don't want to make Cheryl a villain cause that's not gonna be a healthy relationship. I think Cheryl just made a decision which didn't turn out well but had legitimate reasons so I'm gonna attempt to tackle that in the next chapter. Thank you to chonideservesbetter and wolfprintproductions as well as to all the people who left kudos for hyping me up to write this chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni meets with Fangs and we catch up with Cheryl at Thistlehouse.

Toni slipped through the flaps of Fang’s tent. She watched him for a moment as he gathered his things, shoving them into an old, worn duffle bag. She cleared her throat making her presence known. Fangs tensed up and slowly turned to face her. Toni froze as she realized he could blame her for being kicked out, it was after all her who told Cheryl about his drug dealing. The moment he saw it was her his body relaxed. He smiled sadly as he closed the distance between them and pulled her into a hug. Toni clawed at his t-shirt as she buried her head in his shoulder which he mirrored. She felt tears beginning to dampen the shoulder of her t-shirt but didn’t comment. She knew he just needed it out of his system and when he was ready to talk, he would. Eventually they separated. Toni leaned up and used her thumb to wipe away his stray tear.

“Hey,” She said softly. He gave a soft smile.

“Hey,” He mimicked.

He rested his hand against Toni's shoulder. She let out a quiet gasp and jerked back. Fangs retracted his hand as though he’d been burnt. He realized he hadn't actually looked at Toni. He had just seen the pink curls and brown eyes before yanking his best friend closer. His eyes widened as he fully examined her in. Blood was smeared across her chin and neck. The most worrying was the wound on her shoulder. Blood was still slowly oozing from it. Toni turned her body away slightly trying to keep the wound out of his sight.

“Fangs..” Toni began.

“Who did this?” He demanded, his tone scarily calm.

“Fangs, it doesn’t matter we’ve got bigger things to worry about,” She said, gesturing around the tent trying to remind him that they only had limited time left on serpent territory.

“An hour ago, you were fine and I highly doubt it was Cheryl who did this,” Toni began to fiddle with the necklace she was wearing. “Was it a serpent?!” He said, his voice in disbelief.

“No of course not,” Toni said, her face scrunching up. “Look, I had a run in with Penny Peabody but it doesn’t matter right now,” Fangs opened his mouth as if he was about to say something before closing it again.

He quickly started pulling things out of his duffle bag before finally holding up a roll of bandages and a bottle of antiseptic.

“Sit,” he said, gesturing to the sleeping bag next to him which he hadn’t rolled up yet.

“I don’t need...” Toni was cut off by a look from Fang’s. It was their thing if you could call it that. Whenever one of them was injured they’d put up a fight before eventually giving in.

Toni deposited herself on the ground with a thump and pulled her t-shirt over her head. She examined the tear while Fang’s doused a cloth in antiseptic. She pouted when she realized that no form of stitching was going to fix her top. It was one of her favorites as well. She hissed and dropped the item on the floor when Fangs pressed the antiseptic covered cloth onto her wound. Toni turned to glare at Fangs, who just gave her an amused smile. They sat in silence while he cleaned her wound, every so often she would let out a few grunts of dismay.

“All done,” He said. Toni nodded in thanks.

Fang’s wrapped the bandage around her collar and under her arm, using tape to hold it in place. Toni glanced down at her bandages and saw a small red spot over her collar but other than that they seemed to be okay. She rotated her arm a few times, making sure she still had full mobility of it even with the bandages.

Fangs was rooting through his duffle when there was a loud noise as the flap of his tent was dramatically swept aside. Toni and Fangs turned towards the noise both preparing for a fight. They were in serpent territory so the only threat were other serpents. Both of them relaxed when they saw Sweet Pea with Jughead and Betty.

“Fangs...” Jughead trailed off when he saw Toni sat there. His gaze immediately averted as he stared intensely at the floor.

Toni cocked her head in confusion as she watched Jughead and Betty both look everywhere but her, a slight blush on their features. She looked between Fangs and Sweet Pea both of them returning her look of confusion.

“We’ll be gone soon, I was just grabbing my things,” Fangs said.

“You don’t have to escort us, we know what will happen if we overstay our welcome.” Toni hissed.

“No, it’s not that” Betty spoke up. She looked down at Toni before casting her gaze up at the roof of the tent. “Could you please put a...” She trailed off as she gestured towards her top.

Toni looked down at herself. She let out a dry laugh as she realized why they were both being so awkward. Fang’s and Sweet Pea both connected the dots at the same time and shared a look. Fang’s held out one of his t-shirts to Toni.

“Sorry I didn’t realize a girl had to stay fully covered around here, even after being stabbed,” Toni said humorlessly. She took the t-shirt from Fangs and slipped it over her head. “There, now can we speed this along, we’ve got places to be” Toni waved a hand between her and Fangs.

“My dad and I have been talking and we think that we should give you another chance at redemption,” Jughead said to Fangs.

“Should I go wait outside?” Toni said. She stood up and made her way out of the tent but was blocked by Sweet Pea.

“Sweets please just let me out,” Toni said in a low voice so only Sweet Pea could hear.

“Just hear him out,” Sweet Pea said. He tilted his head in the direction of Jughead.

Toni rolled her eyes and turned around. She wanted Fangs to be let back in. It would mean he would be safe. She just couldn’t be here if they let him in and not her. She didn’t want to be so selfish but she just couldn’t help it.

“My dad and I have also been talking to the serpents,” Jughead said to Toni. “They told us how you kept them alive when we weren’t here. I never thanked you for that.” He cast his gaze to the floor in shame.

“What do you want us to do?” Fangs asked. “We want you to go undercover in the Gargoyle Gang, we need someone on the inside of Hiram's drug operation so that we can take him down,” Jughead said.

Fang’s and Toni exchanged a look. There was hesitation in both of their eyes.

“No,” Toni said eventually.

Bettys' eyebrows shot up and Jugheads eyes bore into her. This was the only way back into the serpents why would she be turning it down?

“What?” Jughead asked.

“Toni think about it,” Sweet Pea said.

“I’m not going undercover with Fang’s,” Toni said. Jughead opened his mouth to begin to speak but was quickly spoken over. “His mum is sick, I’m not letting him go undercover.” She turned towards Fangs. “You need to be with your mum, she can’t have the added stress of not knowing whether you’re safe or not.”

Fangs considered what she said for a moment. He desperately wanted to do anything to get back into the serpents but at the same time, his mums' days were limited. Even with the medicine, the doctors weren’t 100% sure she would make a recovery. He smiled softly at Toni.

“I’ll go undercover alone but I have a few conditions.” Toni continued.

Jughead frowned slightly, he wasn’t used to serpents not doing as he said. Usually, he’d tell them to jump and they’d ask how high.

“I’m sure we can come to a compromise,” Betty said when she saw Jugheads reluctance. “I want Fangs and Cheryl to be let back into the serpents,” Toni stated.

Jughead frowned and shook his head slightly. “Fangs I can do but Cheryl. The serpents don’t like the fact that she’s a Blossom, they tolerate her because of you, without you here I don’t know how well that’ll go down.” Jughead said.

“The serpents know that I wasn’t alone playing robin hood. I don’t know if you realized but, in your absence, the serpents warmed up to her. Are you really that out of touch with your people?” Toni scoffed.

Jughead bristled. His own feelings towards Cheryl and the slight power imbalance of this situation had him acting irrationally.

“What will the serpents think if I just let two people, I kicked out back in? They won’t listen to me if they think my threats are empty,” Jughead said exasperated.

“You shouldn’t rely on threats to get them to listen to you,” Toni stated. “If I’m undercover with the Gargoyles I can’t make sure that Cheryl is safe all the time if she’s with the serpents than she has some protection. Do we have a deal or not?”

Jughead contemplated for a second. Although his personal feelings towards the young Blossom were anything but positive, he had to push them down for a second. He reflected back on the past few weeks. He hadn’t seen or heard any snide comments from the serpents about Cheryl. Come to think of it over the last few weeks he’d seen her socializing with the serpents without Toni by her side. His eyes widen and he realized how much of dick he must seem. He held out a hand to Toni which she took.

“Deal.” He said as he shook her hand. “Now we just have to figure out how to get you inside.”

Toni thought about the deal Penny had offered her. If the deal was still on the table after their scuffle than there would be no issue. She just had to figure out a way to make it seem like her loyalties had changed. She needed to do something big so that the snake inside the serpents could report back. Something that would give a serpent by blood a reason to switch sides. She looked down towards her ribs, where her serpent tattoo was and grimaced.

“I might have an idea,” Toni said.

* * *

 

Veronica pulled up in front of Thistlehouse. As she switched the engine off, she noticed that Josies car was already parked up. She quickly slid out her car and made her way to the back of the car. She popped open the boot and quickly gathered everything in her arms. She wasn’t quite sure what she was here for but Toni's text suggested it was something which would require chocolate, ice cream and tissues which Veronica had hastily gathered on her way over.

Veronica nudged the door open with her heel as her hands were full. She was greeted with the sight of Nana Rose watching her TV. Veronica opened her mouth to speak but Nana Rose gestured towards the staircase. She smiled politely and nodded at the older woman before quickly bounding up the stairs.

Veronica stopped outside Cheryl's bedroom door and gently nudged it open. The scene in front of her broke her heart. Josie was sat on the bed rubbing what she assumed was Cheryl’s back. Cheryl was under her red silk covers, the only give away that it was her was the red hair that stuck out from underneath. Veronica could hear Josie saying something to Cheryl but she couldn’t hear exactly what was being said.

Veronica gently placed the items on Cheryl’s dresser before sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Toni?” Cheryl hiccupped, her head poking out from under the covers.

“Sorry Cheryl it’s just me,” Veronica said reaching out to hold Cheryl's hand and rub circles into the back of it.

Cheryl looked like a mess. Her mascara had been smudged all around her red, puffy eyes and her hair was sticking up every which way. Veronica wasn’t exactly sure what had happened between her and Toni but she couldn't imagine it was anything good. She gently pulled Cheryl so that her head lap in her lap. Cheryl turned and buried her face into Veronicas stomach. Veronica looked at Josie and mouth _what happened_. Josie shrugged her shoulders in reply.

“I’m sorry for stealing the egg,” Cheryl mumbled, her voice muffled by Veronicas stomach.

“It’s okay, you took it for a good reason,” Veronica said, rubbing Cheryl's back.

Cheryl sat up so that she was eye level with Veronica. She sniffled a bit and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

“But I still took it, I shouldn’t have, I had no right to and now...” Her voice wobbled and she tried to control her emotions.

“Shhh it’s okay,” Veronica said pulling Cheryl into a hug. At first, she stiffened before she eventually relaxed. “Now let’s get you cleaned up before the ice cream melts.”

Cheryl pulled away from the hug and her eyes lit up at the mention of ice cream. Veronica held out a hair band to Josie who took it from her. Josie gently took Cheryl's hair in her hands and tied it up in a messy bun for her. Veronica leaned backwards to Cheryl’s bedside cabinet. She knew that’s where the girl kept her makeup wipes. She gently wiped away the makeup until Cheryl was fresh-faced.

Cheryl and Josie both slid under the covers while Veronica snatched the ice cream off of the dresser, thanking the store that gave her three plastic spoons. They sat in silence while they ate the ice cream. It wasn’t an awkward or tense silence it was comfortable.

“How did you girls know that I was upset?” Cheryl asked breaking the silence. She had been curious since Josie had pushed the door to her bedroom open but had been to hysterical to ask. Veronica and Josie shared a look before answering.

“Toni texted,” Josie said.

Cheryl nodded and sat in silence for a few minutes. Veronica and Josie both exchanged worried looks. They weren’t sure whether to push or wait for Cheryl to continue.

“I guess you’re both wondering what happened,” Cheryl said.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t but you don’t have to tell us Cheryl,” Veronica said.

“Don’t feel pressured to say anything,” Josie added.

Cheryl took a deep breath. “We got kicked out of the serpents, Toni and I” Cheryl stated. Veronica gasped. She couldn’t believe it, how could Jughead do that. “It was my fault though, I was stupid and reckless and...” Cheryl trailed off.

“Cheryl I highly doubt it was your fault,” Josie said.

“But it was,” Cheryl said her voice wavering.

“Take us back to the start Cheryl,” Veronica said.

Cheryl nodded. “Jughead had said no more crimes were to be committed within the gang,” Veronica frowned, the serpents were a gang their whole basis was criminal activity. “but the serpents were starving and Fangs mum, god Fangs mum, she’s ill and he can’t afford the medical bills. My mother has locked away my inheritance till I’m 18 so Toni and I decided that we’d try to help out the only other way we could.” Josie gently rubbed Cheryl's back. “We started stealing from the rich, only enough that it would cover the bills for the hospital and feed the serpents. Then Jugheads new rule screwed everything up. We decided to do one more job, one that would pay the rest of the medical bills, feed the serpents and get them new housing so they weren’t living in tents.” Veronica knew that Cheryl was talking about the egg. “God there are so many young kids V and they’re always hungry and scared. I didn’t realize why Toni stayed at the camp so often when she moved in with me till I stayed with her one night.”

Cheryl began to tear up at the memory. That night was the first of many. Parents were out at work pulling as many shifts to keep their families fed which left the kids alone at night. Even being mini serpents they all still believed in the boogie man. She had watched Toni comfort so many kids that night, realized why they always flocked to her during the day. She had comforted and grown close to most of the kids as well.

“That’s why you stole the egg,” Veronica stated.

“Yeah but I did something stupid so stupid V. As we were leaving, I saw that portrait of your father. He is the reason why those kids have to stay in tents every night. He hired the Ghoulies to chase the Serpents off their turf. So, I left behind a lipstick mark. To show him that he wasn’t as safe as he thought. That if we wanted to, we could get to him. He wasn’t any safer at the Pembroke than the kids were in their tents.” Cheryl rambled.

Veronica nodded solemnly. She knew her father's part in all of this, she wasn’t ignorant.

“But now we’ve been kicked out and Toni is upset and it’s all just a mess which I caused,” Cheryl finished.

“Cheryl it’s not your fault...” Josie began.

“How?!” Cheryl asked her voice rising in pitch.

“Because Toni agreed to steal the egg as well, she knew that you could’ve got caught and did it anyway. Jughead is just...I don’t even know you are in a gang he can’t try to get you to act like a fun after-school club.” Veronica explained.

“Toni said she just needed time to calm down. She’ll be back before you know it.” Josie said.

“What if she doesn’t come back?” Cheryl said in a quiet voice. “She will Cheryl, that girl loves you. She just needs a bit of time.” Josie said, leaning her head on Cheryl's shoulder.

“Trust me we see it every day at school, that girl is head over heels for you,” Veronica said.

The trio lay down under the covers and snuggled up together.

“Thank you, I don’t know what I’d do without you girls,” Cheryl said.

“Probably hiding Jughead’s body by now.” Josie joked. Cheryl gave her a leveled look. “What? We are like 20% of your impulse control.”

“Who’s the other 80%?” Cheryl asked. “

Toni.” Veronica and Josie said at the same time.

All three of them began laughing. The sound covering up the noise Cheryl's phone made as it vibrated on her bedside table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, another chapter is done. Thanks to everyone who left kudos and comments. Don't wanna start drama but I can assure you I'm not lesbophobic as I am a lesbian myself. If you think I'm villainising Cheryl I would really appreciate if you mentioned how I was so that I could change it as I really don't want to make her seem evil. If you have any ideas for this story please drop by my tumblr: idontgiveamcfuck as I have a vague outline of how this is gonna go but nothing's set in stone yet. Thank you anyway and I hope you enjoyed :)

**Author's Note:**

> I'll probably only do notes at the end of chapters for now but can you see my points. I only agree with the money stealing if it was to support the Serpents and I don't think Toni would've been so nonchalant to let Cheryl leave a kiss mark behind like shes literally been in a gang doing illegal activities since she was a kid. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it.


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